Interview

09

Oct 12

When Sidebottom chose cricket over football

Tall, strapping and flaunting his long,
curly mane, Ryan Sidebottom looks more like a footballer than a cricketer. And
had he not been “hopeless at football”, he could well have followed his father,
Arnie’s footsteps and played for Manchester United. Instead, he picked up the
cricket ball and started decided to bowl fast.

The Yorkshire pacer, who is in South Africa
for the 2012 edition of CLT20, caught up with clt20.com and shared some interesting stories about his
decade-long, eventful international career. He also spoke about the art of
bowling in Twenty20s and the importance of tournaments like the CLT20 in
developing young cricketers.

I
loved football as a kid and played it as much as
possible. But I knew I didn’t have a chance in football as much as I did in
cricket. Although I’d have preferred to play football with all the money in it
but it wasn’t to be. But I’ve been playing cricket for 15 years now and I’m
still enjoying it. There are a lot of young kids in our team who still keep me
fit and keep me going. I still live the game and love it.

My
father Arnie Sidebottom was my inspiration. He was
a fine footballer and played for Manchester United. He also played a Test for
England. As a kid I had paper cuttings of his days with Man U and Huddersfield
and I just wanted to grow up and be like him. But as it turned out, I was
pretty hopeless at football and fast bowling was the only option for me. I
really appreciate what my father has done for me. He’s always given me the
right words of wisdom and I’ve always wanted to do well for him.

I
was probably a bit young coming in to Test cricket,
having played only a handful of county matches. I was a little overawed by the
situation, playing my first game at the Lord’s. But you learn from your
experiences, wins and losses.

I
played my second Test six years after making my Test debut (in 2001) and it was totally different then. It was almost like a
second debut. I didn’t quite believe it was happening. I was back at Headingly
where it had all started for me. I was like a little kid filled with
enthusiasm. My entire family was watching me; my uncles, aunties and cousins,
they were all there. It was like starting all over again. I was a 20-year-old
again.

Stephen
Fleming has a lot to do with my comeback in Test cricket. I moved to Nottinghamshire in 2004 and that’s where I met him. He
was our captain there and he really looked after me. I think it was he who
pushed me back into contention with England.

Winning
the World Twenty20 in 2010 and the Test hat-trick
against New Zealand in 2008 are special memories from my international career.
At the T20 World Cup, no one quite gave us a chance. To beat our old nemesis
Australia in the final is something I’ll never forget.

Champions
League Twenty20 is wonderful. As cricketers we
always want to play in big tournaments and it doesn’t get bigger than the
CLT20. To be playing against the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag and others is
wonderful. We’ll first have to qualify for the main draw and even if we don’t
win, hopefully the youngsters will learn a lot from this experience like I did
when I was younger.

For
a young bowler playing in a tournament like CLT20
it’s important to keep things simple and try not to get overawed by the
occasion. Give yourself enough time to think about your game and don’t try to
do too many things at the same time. At some point you’re going to get hit for
boundaries but it’s important not to panic.

When
in pressure, go for the yorker. I think the yorker
is still a bowler’s best weapon in all formats. Its value in T20s is
underestimated. The best T20 bowler in the world currently, Lasith Malinga, has
nailed the yorker and they can’t hit him anywhere. I watched plenty of the
recent World Twenty20 and didn’t see this delivery being bowled too often. England
fell down in the death overs with the ball because instead of going for the yorkers,
they focused their energies on getting too many variations.

Open Questions

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